Tavis Smiley | PBS

Donna Summer Tribute

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:38:04 +0000

In a tribute to the "Queen of Disco," Tavis looks at the legacy of the five-time Grammy winner and one of the most popular artists of the disco era.

Actor-filmmaker Kevin Costner, Part 2

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:37:47 +0000

In the conclusion of a two-part conversation, Costner discusses his role in the History channel's first scripted miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys, and his band's companion CD. He also shares his experience of working with the late Whitney Houston and speaking at her funeral.

Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:37:30 +0000

The best-selling author and former senator discusses his text We Can All Do Better, in which he assesses the state of the U.S., the toll placed on its people and what role each American can play to help the nation reach its full potential.

Actor-filmmaker Kevin Costner, Part 1

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:37:16 +0000

In part one of this two-night conversation, the two-time Oscar winner reflects on his body of work and the moment he fully committed to becoming a thespian and discloses the one thing he feels people would envy of him.

Actor-writer Billy Bob Thornton

Wendi Chavis — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:12:24 +0000

The Academy Award winner-turned-author shares what finally convinced him to write his memoir, The Billy Bob Tapes: A Cave Full of Ghosts, and talks about life-changing events and his driving force.

Actor Dev Patel

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:11:54 +0000

The actor of Slumdog Millionaire fame highlights his rise to stardom and discusses two new projects: the star vehicle The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the new HBO series The Newsroom.

Paralympic medalist-author Bonnie St. John

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:11:41 +0000

The Paralympic medalist and best-selling author discusses what she and her daughter learned while writing her text How Great Women Lead: A Mother-Daughter Adventure into the Lives of Women Shaping the World.

Actor Michael Emerson

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:11:28 +0000

The two-time Emmy winner and Person of Interest star discusses overcoming nerves about performing on stage, his thoughts on being known as a character actor and the type of role he fears most.

Singer-songwriter Carole King

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:11:15 +0000

The prolific singer-songwriter reflects on her past songs and the inspiration for her art, as described in her memoir, A Natural Woman.

Salon.com founder David Talbot

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:11:01 +0000

The online journalism pioneer shares why he chose to write about San Francisco in his book Seasons of the Witch, how the city’s inhabitants pushed social progress and relates its 1960s values to current social issues.

Urban farmer Will Allen

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:10:44 +0000

The pioneering urban farmer and founder-CEO of Growing Power, Inc. discusses his text The Good Food Revolution, his thoughts on “food deserts” and preventative measures against disease and childhood obesity.

Producer-writer Garry Marshall

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:09:59 +0000

One of the TV and film's most successful writer-director-producers discusses his battle with cancer and what it takes to be a successful producer, as detailed in his new memoir, My Happy Days in Hollywood.

Harvard professor Michael Sandel

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:53:04 +0000

The Harvard professor assesses whether morality is in play in U.S. markets and discusses his best-selling book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets.

Pulitzer Prize winner Sheryl WuDunn

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:45:27 +0000

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer-turned-business exec and entrepreneur discusses her best-selling book, Half the Sky, and shares why she believes that the oppression of women is the moral issue of our time.

Microsoft VP Anthony Salcito

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:30:04 +0000

Microsoft's VP of Worldwide Public Sector Education explains how technology saved his life and weighs in on whether his industry can advance education.

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:28:22 +0000

The University of Virginia professor discusses his text The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion and expands upon his Moral Foundations theory across political party lines.

Actor Ryan O’Neal

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:31:25 +0000

The Oscar-nominated actor discusses media scrutiny of his parenting skills, his battle with different types of cancer and why he wrote his memoir, Both of Us: My Life with Farrah.

Actor Damian Lewis

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:56:01 +0000

The British actor reflects on portraying American history in Band of Brothers and weighs in on President Obama's comment on Lewis' latest star vehicle, Showtime's Peabody Award-winning drama series Homeland.

Columnist-author Anna Quindlen

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:46:15 +0000

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer discusses her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, shares her views on aging and offers insight on how certain women-related political issues will play out on the 2012 campaign trail.

Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:41:50 +0000

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter discusses the challenge of making an album of love songs, how he hones his craft as a songwriter and the backstory of the title of his latest CD, "Love Is a Four Letter Word."

Journalist-author Robin Roberts

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:34:40 +0000

The Emmy-winning Good Morning America co-anchor reflects on the experience of writing her latest text, My Story, My Song, with her mother and how, through their collaboration, they learned more about each other.

Former education secretary Bill Bennett

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:12:11 +0000

The former education secretary and host of the syndicated radio show Morning in America shares his inspiration for writing the text The Book of Man and assesses the growth in education inequality and the "Race to the Top" program.

Actor Ed Helms

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:00:44 +0000

The actor-comedian-writer discusses the 3rd annual L.A. Bluegrass Situation, his role on The Office and whether there will be another season for the hit NBC sitcom.

Singer-songwriter Steve Tyrell

Wendi Chavis — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:17:40 +0000

The Grammy-winning artist-producer-songwriter highlights his career and his R&B background and reflects on developing his own sound as an artist, as heard on his newest CD, "I'll Take Romance."

Actor-writer Ayad Akhtar

Wendi Chavis — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:09:25 +0000

The actor-writer talks about the real-life experiences that inspired his first novel, American Dervish, relates Islam to Christianity and discusses his challenges as a storyteller to expose new truths that readers would not normally consider.

Former NY Gov. George Pataki

Wendi Chavis — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:51:34 +0000

The former three-term New York governor explains why he decided not to run in the 2012 presidential election, comments on Mitt Romney's success on Wall Street in the wake of poverty and offers his views on the NY primary.

Writer Robert Draper

Wendi Chavis — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:49:07 +0000

The best-selling author explains the inspiration behind the title of his new book, Do Not Ask What Good We Do, comments on whether the media has an impact on Congress and shares his thoughts on this year’s “freshman class” on Capitol Hill.

Author Judy Blume

Wendi Chavis — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:47:12 +0000

The award-winning and controversial author discusses book censorship in the Internet age, how she can continue to connect with children as she grows older and what's next on her agenda.

Actor-writer-director Clark Gregg

Wendi Chavis — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:46:18 +0000

The actor-writer-director discusses the development of his character in the much-buzzed-about feature The Avengers and relates his career to that of the NBA's Jeremy Lin.

Journalist Noam Scheiber

Wendi Chavis — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:24:11 +0000

The senior editor of The New Republic reflects on President Obama’s first term, assesses whether the present administration has learned lessons about the economy and discusses his book, The Escape Artist.